Thursday, April 16, 2015

Throw Back Thursday Pisa

Pisa - February 2000

It leans, it has leaned for hundreds of years, it has not fallen over, and no one has fixed it. It is really amazing that no one has torn it down or messed it up by trying to fix it. Pisa is a cute little town, but few would bother to get off the train and trek across town if the tower didn't lean. The city thrives on a tower that is different, unique, one of a kind.

Pisa is an easy train ride from Florence. We waited for the scheduled regular train on the way going out. It only stopped a couple times between Florence and Pisa. On the way back, we hoped on the first train headed in our direction rather then waiting for the one that showed Florence as the destination. We ended up on the local train, the one taking teenage students home from school that stopped in every village between Pisa and Florence. The kids were well rambunctious kids Stopping in every village with the locals was a wonderful experience. I am so glad we hopped on the first train going in our direction, rather then waiting for the faster train.

3 comments:

Actually, there used to be a fair number of leaning towers, seemingly caused by poor construction techniques, and lousy foundation ground. There is competing lore about why they were built, but the most popular reasons seem to be a desire to outdo the towers in other towns (much like cathedral building in other parts of Europe), and to provide a place that was easy to defend from invaders. Some of the other towers lean, too, though most, if not all of them have been torn down over the centuries. Pisa certainly has the most famous and picturesque tower for sure! I'd love to see it in person some day!

I, too, love the trains as a way to get around in the UK. Too bad the US has let our own rail system fall to nothing but limited service here and there.

About Me

Travel and life are great adventures. There are many interesting and exciting places to go and see. A penguin has been one of my traveling companions for a very long time. This blog is a journal of some of our adventures. We have been to 48 states, (missing Idaho and Wyoming) and a fifteen countries. Our adventures will continue as long as we are up to the travel.